“What the…?”
Jaar looked up and doubted his own eyes.
He did not know the full story of how it had happened, but—
four figures were falling from above.
Amid the chaotic noise coming from between them—
Neighhh!
Something that looked like a horse let out a cry and body-slammed Flex.
The two became entangled and plummeted at high speed.
But whatever happened to them was none of Jaar’s concern.
All of his attention was focused on Rough.
Soon, purple-glowing armor equipped itself onto Rough’s body.
KABOOOOM!!
Rough was struck by the greatsword and blasted straight through the castle wall.
Meanwhile, Frame’s skeleton was cleanly split in two by Rough’s sword aura, and he fell limply.
Their duel had ended in Rough’s victory.
Jaar and the falling Flex hurried to where Rough had been sent flying.
“Hey! Rough! Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
His HP had dropped considerably, but Rough was still alive.
The reason Sarin Armor was an Epic-rank item—
was not only its monstrous Defense, but also its special damage-reduction option.
It was equipment specialized entirely for defense.
Although its Level requirement had been reset to its original value, Sarin Armor had not returned to his Inventory.
Clearing the Dungeon had raised Rough’s Level above 50, allowing him to equip it permanently.
“You’re only worried about him? I worked hard too, you know…?”
“Here.”
When Flex pointed at himself, Jaar casually tossed him a Potion, essentially telling him to take it and get lost.
“We barely cleared it. I thought we were going to fail.”
Flex drank the Potion Jaar handed him and checked his rewards.
He wore the innocent expression of a child.
Rough, likewise full of anticipation, checked his share of the rewards.
[You have cleared the Ruins of the Fallen Kingdom!]
[Top Contributor: Rough]
[Second Contributor: Flex]
[Third Contributor: Jaar]
[Level has increased!]
[Your Personal Trait Level has increased!]
Rough quickly skipped through the Level-up notifications.
[You have obtained the Hidden Class ??? Job Change Book (Bound)!]
‘Yes!’
The reward Rough had wanted most from this Dungeon was, without question, an item that could let him change into a Hidden Class.
And, as befitted the top contributor, he had received the best reward—the one he had hoped for.
“Hm?”
Rough’s gaze stopped at one part of the item description as he read it carefully.
Job Change Book (Bound).
Bound. In other words, it could not be transferred to someone else.
‘Wow, DDO has bound items too? I almost could’ve missed out on this.’
Since it could not be traded, if he had failed to take first place in contribution, he would have lost it for good.
Rough’s gaze moved once more.
It stopped at the portion marked with question marks.
‘Hidden Class ????’
Even his Personal Trait could not identify all its information.
Even after it had undergone its second growth.
It was probably because the item’s rank was that high.
‘I’ll take my time using it after I return to Asente.’
Once he had finished checking his rewards, Rough looked to his companions.
“Jaar, what did you get?”
“This.”
Jaar held out a sword.
It was one of the major spoils Rough had seen through his Personal Trait before entering the Dungeon.
The Sword of Extreme Cold.
The weapon Jaar had been using was one he had obtained near the end of the Tutorial, so it was about time for an upgrade.
“Let’s see…”
After checking its Stats, Rough found them quite respectable.
It was more than good enough for Jaar to use at his current Level.
“Nice. Oh, what are you going to do with your old one?”
“I should probably sell it. Carrying it around would be inconvenient.”
“Give it to me. I’ll sell it for you.”
“Alright.”
Without any suspicion, Jaar handed over the weapon he had been using.
‘It’s a Level 20 weapon, but it’s still Rare-rank, so it should fetch a decent price. Once it sells, I should get him some armor. Especially a shield, no matter what.’
From the Kobold Lord in the Tutorial up to now—
Jaar’s shield had endured numerous battles, and its Durability was nearly depleted.
For smoother gameplay, he needed to replace it with a better shield.
‘And I’ll keep the leftover Gold. That’s fine, right?’
Swallowing the rest of his thoughts, Rough turned to Flex.
“What did you receive as a reward?”
“I got this.”
The Ghost Steed, Frame’s former mount, was summoned beside Flex.
With Frame’s death, Flex had become its new owner.
He appeared satisfied with his Dungeon reward.
“Oh, a mount. That’s pretty cool.”
Rough murmured in admiration as well.
“What did you get? You were the top contributor, weren’t you?”
Rough took out the item he had received as a reward.
“A Hidden Class Job Change Book?”
Contrary to Rough’s expectation that Flex—who could never get enough of rare items—would covet it—
“Come to think of it, you haven’t changed Classes yet, have you? That worked out well.”
Flex showed no particular interest in the Hidden Class Job Change Book.
He could not change Classes himself, and he was already very satisfied with his current Class.
Besides, it was Bound, so he could not take it even if he wanted to.
“It would probably have been useless to anyone but us.”
The Ruins of the Fallen Kingdom was a Dungeon with a difficulty so high that clearing it without a first Job Change was nearly impossible.
The reason Rough, who had not yet changed Classes, had been able to clear it was obvious.
He possessed the special ability known as a Personal Trait.
On top of that, there was Jaar, a Named NPC, and Flex, an absolute whale.
It was thanks to the explosive synergy between the three of them.
Even then, they had only barely managed it just before the time limit expired.
If even one of the three had been replaced by someone else, clearing the Dungeon would have been impossible.
Of course, anyone could clear it after changing Classes and raising their Level.
But if they cleared it after changing Classes, the Hidden Class Job Change Book would become worthless junk.
In the end, Rough was right: it would be useless to anyone but them.
‘That’s why it’s Hidden.’
Satisfied, Rough placed the Job Change Book into his Inventory.
Once the rewards had been checked—
Flex’s attention suddenly turned to Rough.
“Huh? Wait. That armor you’re wearing?”
He had only just noticed Sarin Armor.
“E-Epic rank?!”
His eyes nearly rolled back as he stared wide-eyed and checked Sarin Armor’s details.
“Even without upgrades, its performance is comparable to the armor I’m wearing right now?! What kind of insane item is that?! How about selling it to me?”
“This is an endgame item at the current stage. Do you think I’m crazy enough to sell it? Absolutely not.”
Rough refused firmly.
“Fifty thousand euros!”
“No.”
“Fifty thousand euros and the armor I’m currently wearing! I’ll throw in the Ghost Steed too!”
“Neigh…”
The Ghost Steed’s eyes drooped sadly.
Its new owner was treating it like a disposable rag.
Flex did not care in the slightest.
“What do you think? That’s not a bad deal, is it?”
Flex had been completely captivated by Sarin Armor.
‘Hmm? The value seems roughly similar… No. There’s no way an Epic item is worth only this much.’
It was a tempting offer, but Rough endured with superhuman patience.
“Still no.”
“Tch.”
At Rough’s stubborn refusal, Flex clicked his tongue.
His gaze remained fixed on Sarin Armor as though he could not bear to part with it.
“Once you change Classes, the Guild system unlocks. Want to join my Guild? It’s one of the ten largest in Europe.”
‘He’s already strong enough, and he’ll soon change into a Hidden Class? I absolutely have to recruit him!’
There had been another reason Flex had sought Rough out—
besides clearing the Ruins of the Fallen Kingdom together.
He wanted to offer him a place in his Guild.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll pass.”
Rough knew very well how demanding it was to be active in a top-ranked Guild.
Minimum requirements for age, Level, and Combat Power.
Mandatory registration on an SNS platform for real-time communication.
Forced removal from the Guild after being offline for a certain amount of time.
Its management would be extremely strict.
Especially since DDO was popular across the entire world.
It was obvious that it would be exhausting enough to feel like he had to sacrifice his real life just to keep up.
“As you heard earlier, I’m the Guild Master. If it’s you, I can make you Deputy Guild Master. I’ll support you financially too.”
Flex formed a circle with his thumb and index finger—the sign for money.
“I’d like to, but I can’t play games all the time. How about we add each other as friends instead?”
Adding each other as friends would benefit them both.
Rough had made a connection with the leader of one of Europe’s ten largest Guilds.
And Flex had built ties with a skilled player named Rough, leaving open the possibility that he might join the Guild later.
“Sure, why not.”
A pheasant was better, but a chicken would do.
Satisfied with adding him as a friend, Flex readily backed down.
“Let me know if you change your mind. You’ll always be welcome.”
***
“Hmm…”
Sitting cross-legged, Rough stared intently at the Job Change Book before him.
“To use it or not to use it. That is the question.”
Since he could not sell it anyway, his only choices were to use it—
or throw it away.
One might ask why he did not simply use it immediately, but Rough had a small hesitation.
“I’m worried I might get some weird Class. DDO’s freedom is unusually high, you know?”
If he changed into a Class far removed from combat—say, a non-combat Class—then the game’s difficulty would skyrocket.
In the worst case, he might only be able to enjoy non-combat content, or remain in low-Level zones.
All his efforts would have been for nothing.
“No, it’s still a Hidden Class, so it should be better than ordinary Classes. In comics, the protagonist gets a non-combat Class and still does everything alone.”
Having made his decision, Rough used the Job Change Book without hesitation.
[You will use the Hidden Class ??? Job Change Book (Bound).]
Fwoooosh!
The Job Change Book in his hand split into dozens—then hundreds—of fragments.
The fragments shone brightly as they were absorbed into Rough’s body.
As he felt a warm energy envelop him, a notification window appeared before his eyes.
[You will change into the Hidden Class, Appraiser!]
“W-Wait, what?!”
A sound that could only come from panic escaped Rough’s mouth.
Before he had the chance to check anything, notification windows continued to appear one after another with accompanying sound effects.
[The Skill, Basic Appraisal Mastery, has been created!]
[The Skill, Appraiser’s Keen Insight, has been created!]
[The Skill, Appraiser’s Delicate Touch, has been created!]
[The Skill, Appraiser’s Sensitive Senses, has been created!]
[The Skill, Appraiser’s Elegant Combination, has been created!]
[You have completed your first Job Change!]
[You have obtained the Title, “Chosen One”!]
[You have obtained the Title, “Taking the First Step”!]
[The Guild system has been unlocked!]
[The Ranking system has been unlocked!]
[The Paid Shop system has been unlocked!]
His Job Change was completed successfully, followed by a flood of notifications.
Among all those messages, only one remained in Rough’s mind.
[You will change into the Hidden Class, Appraiser!]